Valls to run for president: 'I want to give everything for France'

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls formally announced Monday evening that he is running for the presidency in next year's election. Read FRANCE 24's live blog for all the reactions and analysis.

• Valls said he would "give everything for France" in a speech to supporters at the town hall in Evry, just south of Paris, where his political career began.
• The 54-year-old said he would stand down as prime minister on Tuesday to focus on the campaign.
• His widely expected announcement comes just a few days after unpopular President François Hollande said he would not seek a second term.
• It follows a conservative primary ballot in which François Fillon, a 62-year-old former prime minister, secured a resounding win to become the presidential candidate of the centre-right Les Républicains party.
• France’s presidential election takes place in two rounds next April and May.

read more: Valls to run for president: 'I want to give everything for France' -

Italy: Italian president asks PM Matteo Renzi to delay resignation until after budget

The presidential office said on Monday that Mattarella had asked outgoing prime minister Matteo Renzi to stay in place until the government had passed its 2017 budget.

The Italian premier had been at the Quirinale Palace, the presidential residence, to formally offer his resignation to Mattarella.

"The prime minister, following the outcome of the constitutional referendum held yesterday, announced that he could not continue with the mandate of the government and has therefore expressed his intention to resign," a statement said.

"The president of the republic, given the need to complete the parliamentary process of approval of the budget law... asked the prime minister to postpone his resignation until this requirement has been fulfilled."

It remained unclear whether Renzi had accepted the task.

Renzi had said he would resign after voters in a referendum squarely rejected his plan for constitutional reform. However, Mattarella urged him to put his planned resignation on hold until parliament had approved the 2017 budget. It was expected that could be done as early as Friday.

Of those who voted for Renzi's plan for constitutional reform - which would have seen the size and power of the Senate limited and which would have centralized power away from the regions - some 60 percent were against. 

Read more: Italian president asks PM Matteo Renzi to delay resignation until after budget | News | DW.COM | 05.12.2016

The Netherlands: The hell of finding a home to rent in the Netherlands -

Attempting to rent a home in the Netherlands turned Julia Corbett into a paranoid spammer with stalker tendencies thrown in. She explains how the rot set in. After not one, two or three, but four properties slipped from my fingers I can safely say I have experienced the housing hell in the Netherlands.

Our adventure began when my Dutch partner returned home after some years in England and I became a student in the Netherlands. It has been a more bumpy start than expected after experiencing a lack of suitable housing options.

From Hilversum to Leerdam and Den Bosch to Busson, I have learnt that luck and timing has more to do with finding a place to rent than most people will feel comfortable with. My Dutch boyfriend of nearly five years took eagerly to the rental sections of housing websites and arranged a day crammed full of viewings of apartments, houses and loft conversions.

Having donned a smart outfit and brushed my hair for the encounter with our future landlords, I found myself being scolded for turning up five minutes late to an appointment that lasted no longer than 30 seconds.

We dashed in and out of the four rooms in a supermarket sweep-style daze, wondering where our furniture would fit, before we were ushered out and abandoned in the street as our suited agent sped off on his company moped. ‘Where is the carpet?!’ we cried at our next viewing only to be informed that carpets, paint and exposed piping were a luxury we must solve on our own.

Read more about renting a home in the Netherlands

Germany's CDU reelects Angela Merkel leader with lowest support since she became chancellor

Chancellor Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has won reelection as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union.

It will be her ninth term as chairwoman.

The only candidate in the running, Merkel gained 89.5 percent of the votes cast at the CDU congress – her worst result as chancellor and her second-worst performance in a vote concerning her.

Ahead of the ballot, she made an effort to appease the conservative wing of the party.

“We do not want any parallel societies, and where they exist we have to tackle them. Our laws have priority over honor codes, tribal and family rules, and over Sharia law…

That also means that with inter-personal communication, which plays a crucial role, we show our face. This is why the full-face veil is not appropriate and should be outlawed wherever it is legally possible – it does not belong to us.”

Read more: Germany's CDU reelects Angela Merkel leader with lowest support since she became chancellor

Almere World Trade Center: Save the date: 16 januari 2017

World Trade Center Almere

The World Trade Center and its members invite potential members and interested individuals to participate in a New Years meeting on Januari 16th. to discuss a variety of issues and to welcome in the New Year.

A new year which presents a lot of challenges. The elction of Donald Trump, elctions in the Netherlands, Germany and France. We expect to see you on Januari 16.

For additional information click here

UN expert says: Torture and abuse ′widespread′ in Turkey following July coup bid

The UN's special rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer, told reporters in Ankara on Friday that measures taken in Turkey following the July coup attempt had created an "environment conducive to torture."

"Testimonies received from inmates and their lawyers suggest that in the days and weeks following the failed coup torture and other forms of ill treatment were widespread," he said.

Melzer's made the comments after a six-day tour of Turkey to investigate allegations of torture. His visit comes one month after US watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Turkish police of torturing detainees arrested in connection with coup attempt.

The UN rapporteur also cautioned that Turkey's prisons and holding cells were often overcrowded: "Most facilities visited were overcrowded, with occupancy ranging from 125 to more than 200 per cent of the actual capacity." However, Melzer also noted that, after visiting facilities in Ankara, Diyarbakir, Sanliura and Istanbul, the overall conditions were generally satisfactory.

Recent legislation and statutory decrees passed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had created a "climate of intimidation," he said, discouraging victims from filing complaints or speaking out about their abuse.

"Holding cells, currently keeping individuals for up 30 days without any access to fresh air, are not suitable to detain anyone for more than 48 hours," Melzer said.

Sweeping security measures adopted as part of Turkey's state of emergency, which was extended by 12 weeks in October, mean that people are held in custody without judicial review for up to 30 days and without access to a lawyer for five days, according to Melzer.

"Worldwide experience shows us that it is precisely in the first hours and days after arrest that the risk of abuse, including torture and other forms of ill-treatment, is highest," he said, urging the Turkish government to live up its declared "zero-tolerance" policy on torture.

Read more: UN expert: Torture and abuse ′widespread′ in Turkey following July coup bid | News | DW.COM | 02.12.2016

Austria: Left-leaning 'professor' Van der Bellen to become Austria's new president

Independent candidate and former Green Party leader Alexander Van der Bellen – affectionately known as "the professor" among his supporters – won Austria's presidential election on Sunday over right-wing populist Norbert Hofe.

Note Almere-Digest: This is bad news for Marie Le Pen France and Geert Wilders from the Netherlands

Read more: Left-leaning 'professor' Van der Bellen to become Austria's new president - France 24